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With the growing popularity of Twitter as a business communications platform, companies have various decisions to make — including these: Does every tweet mentioning the firm’s name require a response? How should firms respond to positive tweets? To negative tweets? How fast should a firm post its response to a tweet?

LeadSift (“Our technology sifts through massive amounts of social data so brands can easily identify customers and engage with them in context.”) recently conducted an important research project on these topics:

“Is it better to answer an irate customer on Twitter, or take the conversation to E-mail? Should you include happy faces in your tweets, or keep them professional? There is no end to the questions that businesses have when developing their Twitter engagement strategy, so we decided to help. LeadSift examined over 10,000 randomly selected interactions from brands and small and medium-sized businesses on the LeadSift platform to see what works, and what doesn’t, when engaging with customers. Take a look at the following infographic for 10 research-backed ways to improve your Twitter customer engagement.”

If you’re ready to ‘party like its 1989,’ you’ll have to talk to Taylor Swift first. The pop star recently applied to trademark that phrase and others related to her songs — a move that marks a shift in the industry, as artists, songwriters, and music publishers increasingly become independent brands. But the case also raises questions about where artists and industry players might cross the line and damage their reputations.”

“Swift’s trademark quest could work out fine, or it could backfire, according to R. Polk Wagner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, whose specialties include copyright and trademark law. ‘She could trademark every line from her lyrics, but there are real limits,’ he said. ‘Every time she does that, she is risking money and risks [her] reputation. Twitter She has to walk a careful line between being an aggressive brander, promoter and builder of the Taylor Swift brand and crossing that line into aggressively suing her fans and customers.’”

“Video streaming and social networking are monopolizing mobile attention, according to research from Ericsson’s latestMobility Report. Two-thirds of mobile traffic now comes from the top five apps in any given market — in the U.S. they’re Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, and Snapchat, respectively. This year also marked the first time that more people watched streamed video content than broadcast TV over a weekly period. These are some of the top findings from the report, based on data from late 2014.”

“The implications for advertisers are, of course, huge. By 2018, $118 billion of the $150 billion global ad market will come from mobile, according to eMarketerprojections.”

Here’s a fun quiz from Chief Marketer. Click the icon to access: “ARE YOU A PROMOTION MARKETING PRO OR SCHMO? Take this quiz to find out if you are the ultimate Chief PROMO Marketer. Get 5 out of 5 correct and be entered to win either a $25 or $50 Starbucks gift card!”

There are millions and millions of apps out there — some better than others. :-) One clever new app is from Adidas, calledConfirmed.

As described by Kyle Stock for Bloomberg:

“Are limited-edition sneakers still special when buyers can reserve them via an app, like a pizza or a pair of movie tickets? Adidas hopes so. The German sportswear giant just launched Confirmed, a mobile platform that will let sneakerheads skip the long lines at Foot Locker, obscure shoe lotteries, and the occasionaldisturbance of the peacethat come with the sale of a rare pair of shoes. ‘You hear a lot of chatter and frustration that the existing system is somehow rigged for friends of friends or VIP customers,’ said Simon Atkins, the company’s vice president of brand activation. ‘We saw a real opportunity to change the paradigm with customers.'”

“Here’s how it works: Consumers who download the app, register with personal details, and allow push notifications from Adidas will get offers to reserve limited-edition shoes and apparel as they become available. Those who respond first are given the right to buy the products at a certain time and place, both in Adidas-owned stores and other retailers.”

Click the image to read more by Stock.

A pair of Adidas “Year of the Goat” sneakers celebrating the Chinese New Year that go on sale on Feb. 19 for $130.

Over the last several years, companies have become much more proactive about releasing buzz-worthy ads before the game and maximizing the online excitement, typically via YouTube.

So, what are going to be the winners in this year’s Super Bowl ad competition? And which of these ads can we watch before Sunday arrives?

As Lindsay Kolowich reports for HubSpot:

“So far, the lineup looks to be a combination of newcomers, like Skittles, and veterans, like Budweiser and Dove. Andaccording to Cleveland.com, many of these companies are keeping their official ads secret until the Super Bowl — and instead, releasing ads for their ads. (How meta.) To prepare you for the Ad Bowl, we’ve rounded up the best ads and ad teasers that have been released thus far. Be sure to check back, as we’ll continue to add to this list as new teasers are released. So without further ado …” Click here to preview several 2015 Super Bowl TV ads.

And here’s the 2015 version of Budweiser’s very popular “puppy” ad from the 2014 Super Bowl. :-)